World Cup Group H analysis: A look at who's who in balanced quartet

Topics: Senegal, Colombia, Japan, Poland, FIFA World Cup

Group H arguably has one of the more balanced quartets at this summer's World Cup. LiveSoccerTV.com takes a look at who's who and each team's chances at making it to the round of 16.

Arguably, Group H is certainly the most interesting quartet at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. All four teams look like serious contenders to progress to the round of 16, making it the most balanced out of any of the quartets at this summer's tournament. Who will progress? And who will fall? Let's have a look at the four teams in this pack, and who are the star men who will have the hopes of their respective nations on their shoulders.

Who's who in this group?

Colombia

Star man: Radamel Falcao was unfortunate to miss out at the 2014 edition due to a bad knee injury, but he's sure to make an appearance this time around. He's rebounded well, guiding Monaco to the Ligue 1 title back in 2017, but was unable to help Les Rouges-et-Blancs defend their domestic crown this time as PSG swept everyone aside.

Falcao is Colombia's all-time top goalscorer, with 29 goals. He'll be looking to help skipper Los Cafeteros as they seek to navigate their way through their tricky group this summer at the World Cup

The coach: Jose Pekerman previously coached the Argentinian national team at the 2006 World Cup and has been in charge of the Colombian squad since 2012.

Prior World Cup appearances: 5 (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2014)

Best finish: Quarter-finals (2014)

Senegal

Star man: Sadio Mane has been in excellent form for Liverpool and will be hoping to lift the Champions League. The former Southampton ace the highest-scoring Senegalese international in Premier League history and will look to help Senegal in their second appearance since 2002, when they became the second African side to make it to the quarter-finals. Kalidou Koulibaly is another major name who Senegal will be relying on to be a big presence to anchor the defense as he's been huge for Napoli in Serie A all season.

Sadio Mane will be the go-to man for Les Lions de la Téranga at the World Cup. It's only their second appearance since 2002

The coach: Aliou Cisse has been the man in charge since 2015. The former midfielder/defender, who plied his trade for Lille, PSG, Birmingham and Sedan, also once coached the Senegalese U23 side and played on the squad that appeared at the 2002 World Cup.

Prior World Cup appearances: 1 (2002)

Best finish: Quarter-finals (2002)

Japan

Star man: Shinji Kagawa, who plays his club football for Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to inspire the Samurai Blue at this summer's World Cup. Asian sides haven't impressed on the greater global stage at World Cups - with Korea winning just two of their last nine games since 2002 and Japan failing to win all three of their group stage games in 2014, whilst Australia have also struggled as well. Japan, meanwhile, won their qualification group without much fuss, but now are in a evenly matched quartet and will have to step up their game if they want to get out of a quartet against tougher opposition like Colombia, Senegal, and Poland. Keisuke Honda is another key player who fans will be heavily relying on to help the team's cause in Russia as well.

Japan failed to win any of their three games back in 2014. Can Shinji Kagawa change that bad run this time around?

The coach: Akira Nishino made major waves in the Japanese media when he was appointed to replace long-serving manager Vahid Halilhodzic at the start of April, and it remains to see whether the gamble will pay off in Russia this summer.

Prior World Cup appearances: 5 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)

Best finish: Round of 16 (2002, 2010)

Poland

Star man: Robert Lewandowski, obviously. The 29-year-old has been hoping to seal a big money move to Real Madrid for years and it remains to be seen whether his wish will finally become his heart's desire this summer. He's been a strong performer for Bayern for years, but has been repeatedly frustrated in his quest to win the Champions League despite winning the Bundesliga time and time again. A big showing for Poland at this summer's World Cup could finally earn him the move to Spain's capital - or perhaps the Premier League - where he'd get another shot at finally getting his hands on the coveted trophy.

Robert Lewandowski has had a solid season yet again for Bayern this season, and is hoping to finally earn a move away from the Bavarians this summer. He'll need to have a strong World Cup to make his case, though...

The coach: Adam Nawalka, who's been in charge since 2013. He notably caused a major upset by beating Germany 2-0 in a EURO 2016 qualifier and guided Poland to their first ever EURO quarter-final back in 2016. Now, he's tasked with seeing how far Poland can go in their first ever World Cup appearance in 12 years.

Prior World Cup appearances: 7 (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006)

Best finish: Third place (1974, 1982)

Who's got their ticket punched to the round of 16

By far, this has got to be one of the more balanced groups at this year's World Cup. Anyone can go through and anyone can go home early. There are no clear favorites. Poland cruised through qualifiers, but they were also the beneficiaries of a really easy group, with only Denmark being their only serious opponents. They are going to be challenged here and it remains to be seen if they will be able to withstand tougher opposition in the form of Japan, Senegal, and Colombia. Certainly, with Robert Lewandowski leading the line, Poland will be a tough foe for anyone, but they obviously will have to step up their game themselves in order to get through to the next round.

Senegal are being led by Sadio Mane, who will be coming into this World Cup off the back off a very strong season with Liverpool, and he will be also backed up in defense by Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, who was equally impressive for the Partenopei in Serie A and has been linked with a move to Juventus.

Meanwhile, Japan have never gotten beyond the round of 16 before, but they certainly can cause their fair share of problems, and Colombia, with players like Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado, and James Rodriguez within their ranks are obviously a very good squad in themselves. Group H is definitely one to keep an eye on and is shaping up to be one of the more interesting quartets this summer - truly, each of these four teams has a fair shot at booking their respective tickets to the next round.